Over the west ridge of Kilimanjaro shrouded in cloud

“In my opinion this has to be one of the most rewarding flying jobs possible.”

Back in 95’ at the age of 45 I decided that I wanted to do something that would benefit someone else other than the taxman and myself. I started air experience flying at 15 so I guess it had to be aeroplane related — result, I formed a small aviation charity ‘AvRICA’ (Aviation Resource International Connecting Africa) Scrounging medical equipment and funds in and around the U.K. and Europe for Africa, AvRICA was soon getting involved in helping other NGO’s (Non Government Organisations) and agencies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Before long I found myself helping out in the front office of a Cessna C208 Caravan a few times a year dropping off doctors and supplies all over East Africa. Quite different from anything else I had flown the ‘Van’ is not a jet fighter nor is it a large passenger aircraft, but in my opinion one of the most accurately sculptured aircraft for the job it does, durable, reliable cargo hungry, fuel miserly low on maintenance and a joy to fly.

The full time professional crews that fly these aircraft on medi-vacs, medical team positioning flights, and supply drops, have my utmost admiration for their dedication to the job. I remember early on approaching one strip (it looked more like a dried up river bed) at a field hospital deep in Tanzania, after the obligatory beat-up to clear the Zebras, Buffalo and any other randomly mobile items that tend to bend aircraft parts, I set the aircraft up on finals - I reflected briefly as I neared the threshold, my pax comprised 5 doctors and 2 nurses in a country where there’s one doctor per 250,000 people! What a great motivator for not screwing things up and for making a ‘greaser of a landing’.  Flying doctors and equipment around Africa has it’s moments, on the last leg of one return flight from Moshi South of Kilimanjaro to Wilson Nairobi the nose-wheel almost struck an Ostrich missing it’s head by a few feet, which could have been awkward to explain to operations — at the time both pressure altimeters were correctly reading 5,000 feet AMSL!

I don’t remember how I started my water realisation projects (windmills and pumps), but I do recall thinking that water is a basic need of all mankind and on a planet that is two thirds water surly everyone must be entitled to their free share in order to survive. Kenya and Tanzania are beautiful countries with stunning scenery but daily life in rural areas is just that, it’s a struggle on a daily basis. Consider this - a gallon of motor fuel in the U.K. would pay for a mosquito net that could save a child’s life from the hypodermic of an Anopheles mosquito laden with its deadly cargo of Malaria.

One undeniable fact remains, ‘you can’t change Africa but it will change you’ and I believe it does so for the better, no matter how desperate things can get, eventually the optimism that has sustained Africa over millions of years breaks through - I’ve seen many moving examples of this first hand.

With two of my three daughters still living at home after University and demanding more and more of my time (and money) - I escape to the airfield and sometimes catch myself looking up at the sky contemplating how things are in East Africa. My nephew drives 747’s and considers his job the best in the world, it’s certainly well paid, but for me there can be nothing more rewarding (or challenging) than the work done by the crews of the Flying Doctor Service - que M*A*S*H music!

Financial help is greatly appreciated and every penny donated goes to aviation medical support and water supply projects in Africa - administration and all other costs are privately sponsored.  Donations can be made via the donations page - thank you. Pilots thought for the day - as my highly respected early days flying instructor Ron D. Campbell once voiced to me over 38 years ago, “always remember - a good pilot makes the right decision at the right time”.

B. Maurer
AvRCA